How the Boxing Day tsunami unfolded, hour by hour

Ten years ago this Boxing Day, an earthquake in Indonesia triggered multiple
tsunamis in what would become one of the biggest natural disasters in
history. But at first, it wasn't clear just how devastating the impact would
be. Follow our clickable graphic to see how it played out in the early
hours.

On December 26, 2004, the western coast of Indonesia was shaken by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake, the fourth biggest in recent times. The damage was felt in 14 countries, and 1.7m were made homeless in the aftermath.

But at first, the huge scale of the quake and subsequent tsunamis wasn't immediately clear. Explore the graphic above (or click here for the whole page experience) to see what happened in the hours after the Indonesian quake, as the ripples spread throughout Asia and the world woke up to one of the most devastating natural disasters ever.

00:59 GMT

The third largest earthquake ever recorded strikes off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. With a magnitude of between 9.1 and 9.3, it unleashes a force 1,500 times greater than the atomic bomb that levelled Hiroshima and rips an 800-mile-long gash in the sea bed.

It is also the longest earthquake ever recorded, lasting for between eight and ten minutes. Normally, a moderate earthquake might last a few seconds.

The first warning comes from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, which issues a bulletin that an earthquake has taken place. But there is initial confusion over the strength of the quake. In Indonesia, the authorities say it is 6.6 magnitude while geologists in the United States say it was 8.1.

There was no tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean to detect tsunamis or to warn the hundreds of thousands of people who lived in coastal areas.

30 minutes

A tsunami hits the northern tip of Indonesia, just 65 miles from the epicentre, devastating the coast and eventually claiming more than 130,000 lives. More than half a million people lost their homes. Banda Aceh is the worst hit, with more than 60 per cent of its buildings destroyed by a wave that was over 30ft high.

35minutes

The Nicobar and Andaman Islands are hit next, with an estimated 1,894 dead. The indigenous tribes living on the island had move to higher ground after the quake and escaped disaster.

1 hour

The wave arrives in Burma, where 59 eventually died, and in Malaysia, killing 89. Even at this point, there is no official confirmation of a tsunami and the number of victims is assumed to be just nine.

Despite a long lag between the time of the earthquake and the arrival of the tsunami, almost all the victims are taken completely by surprise.

1 hour 30 minutes

Reports start to arrive that the west coast of Thailand and Phuket have been hit by a huge wave. Tourists watched as water recedes from the beach before washing back over them. Eventually, more than 5,300 people on the Thai coast would lose their lives. Many tourists drowned in their hotel rooms. The US upgrades the strength of the quake to 8.9 magnitude.

2 hours

Seismologists record another earthquake, of 7.3 magnitude, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. At the same time, the wave hits Sri Lanka and southern India, destroying fishing villages and coastal towns. As many as 31,000 people die on the east of Sri Lanka.

Satellites record tsunami wave heights over the Bay of Bengal, but data doesn’t reach scientists until hours later.

2 hours, 30 mins

At least 8,800 people are killed on the south east coast of India around Chennai, but statistics are slow to come in. In India and Sri Lanka many of the victims are women and children: the men who were out fishing floated over the wave, only to return to towns and villages that have been utterly destroyed.

News of mass casualties in Sri Lanka starts to trickle out, but statistics still under represent the scale of the disasters.

In an indication of the scale of the tsunami, the wave reaches the east coast of Africa, some 4,400 miles away. Somalia is the worst affected area, with 150 deaths, but the wave destroys homes and poisons water supplies.

14 hours, 30 mins

Waves from tsunami reach the Pacific and the water mark in Mexico rises by 8ft. Over the coming days, as the scale of the emergency becomes clear, a series of aftershocks hamper what will become the world’s largest-ever relief operation.